Stranger Things: The First Shadow Will Connect to Season 5 of the TV Show

Stranger Things: The First Shadow, the theatrical prequel to Netflix’s ’80s nostalgia/sci-fi horror series, is gearing up for its Broadway run precisely as anticipation for the television series’ final season—starring Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo and Sadie Sink—is reaching fever pitch.

Kate Trefry, the longtime Stranger Things writer who also penned The First Shadow, revealed just how deeply intertwined the play is with the upcoming season.

“It’s super complicated,” Trefry said of the writing process. “I was writing season five at the same time I was writing the play. So I was writing the future of the series while also writing the origin story, while also trying to keep track of the characters as they are currently and make it all fit. It was like this mad jigsaw puzzle of dialogue between all these different time periods.”

Trefry said the payoff for fans will make all the hard work worth it. “Once you finally take all of it in as a whole—all the way through season five and the play—it should feel so incredibly satisfying because it’s all connected.”

Director Stephen Daldry said that The First Shadow was designed to mirror the cinematic feel of the series. “We said to Kate when she first started, ‘Don’t write a play. Write two episodes, and then we will get together and figure out how to do it.'"

That mentality led to the production incorporating elements familiar to Stranger Things fans, including rapid intercutting between scenes and even a signature match cut. “This is the series, but without a screen in the way,” Daldry said. “It can get you.”

Stranger Things: The First Shadow begins performances on March 28. The fifth and final season of the TV series will premiere in 2025.